Stamford officials say developer BLT ‘went well beyond’ agreed parameters on South End project
STAMFORD — City representatives and Government Center
officials say that Stamford’s largest developer, Building and Land Technology,
improperly began building at 21 Pulaski St. — a city-owned property that abuts
the South End Charter Communications headquarters.
The
city acquired 21 Pulaski St. through eminent
domain in 2020 after months of negotiations between former Mayor David
Martin's office, city boards and the property owner, corporation counsel Doug
Dalena told a Board of Representatives subcommittee last week. Stamford
ultimately paid more than $1 million for the parcel after the property owner,
Roland Lesperance, appealed its original offer and used the land to expand
parts of Washington Boulevard and Pulaski Street.
But once city crews completed expansion, "Charter had a
concern that the city wouldn't really take too much interest in that one piece
of orphan property once it did what it needed to do with the road," Dalena
said.
"Charter wanted to make sure that — with everything
that was going on with their complex — the city wasn't leaving it in an unkempt
or near-blight condition," he continued.
Martin signed landscape and liability agreements with
Charter Communications in May 2021. Through that agreement, the city granted
Charter and BLT permission to grade, landscape and maintain 21 Pulaski St. in a
way that reflected the improvements at the sprawling Charter headquarters next
door.
But more than a year after the city and BLT signed the
agreement, board members and staff say isn’t what happened.
Both residents and elected officials this summer began
reporting construction work at 21 Pulaski St. In the fenced-off lot, the
developer was pouring concrete for amenities like pavers, stairs, pathways and
retaining walls for landscaping, according to Dalena.
What the city expected and signed on to, he continued, was a
much smaller scope of work. However, upon examination from the building
department, city inspectors found electrical wiring on the site and light
posts.
"What the city agreed to was not complied with by the
other party to the agreement, as it went well beyond 'grade, landscape and
maintain'," Dalena said.
BLT did not immediately respond to a request for comment
from The Stamford Advocate on the scope of work at 21 Pulaski St. and no
representative for the developer appeared before the board.
The building department filed stop-work orders in response
to the work at the lot, which the developer complied with, building department
head Shawn Reed said.
Though the construction work was halted, questions from
board members on how it should respond to the developer's actions remained.
Rep. Terry Adams, whose district includes the South End,
pressed Dalena on how the city would dispose of the property given the
significant improvements on the lot.
"How did we get here, and how do we get out of
it?" he asked.
Dalena, Reed and the representatives ultimately went into
executive session to discuss the next steps. Dalena said later that while the
city discussed legal action against BLT, negotiations would focus on finding
the best use for the property.
"The course that we've decided to take is to try and
look at what ... the city (wants) there, what is going to benefit the public
the most and work toward that solution," Dalena said.
Torrington begins construction project on Scoville Street
TORRINGTON — Public works crews have begun road
reconstruction for the entire length of Scoville Street; the project is
expected to continue into October.
This is the second road of the South End Reconstruction
Project 2022.
Clarence and and Palmer Bridge streets will be started over
the next few weeks, acccording to the department.
The project includes paving, sidewalks, curbing, drainage
repairs, and associated miscellaneous work, which will provide for safer
vehicular and pedestrian travel. The project is financed with city funds.
As part of the project, a section of Scoville will be made
into a permanent one-way, from Palmer Bridge Street to Park Avenue. The one way
direction of traffic will start with the beginning of this phase.
Drivers should expect daily traffic delays with one-way
alternating traffic and daily road closures, allowing local traffic only.
Drivers are advised to avoid these roads and use alternate routes. Emergency
vehicles will be allowed at all times.
Parked vehicles are not permitted within the street
right-of-way at any time of the day or night. Vehicles in violation will be
ticketed and towed at the owners expense.
For more information, contact the City of Torrington
Engineering Department at 860-489-2234, Mark_Austin@torringtonct.org or
visit the Engineering Department website link for Construction Projects
2022/2023
Residents are also encouraged to sign up for the Torrington
Alerts Community Notification System to keep up to date with project updates.
Visit www.torringtonct.org/Alerts for
more information.
$200M waterfront development slated for Bridgeport’s Steelpointe Harbor
A$200 million, mixed-use development project with 420 rental
units and 10,000 square feet of commercial retail space is slated for
Bridgeport’s waterfront in Steelpointe Harbor.
The project is a partnership between Indianapolis-based
Flaherty & Collins Properties, RCI Group and the city of Bridgeport.
“This is a truly unique and exciting project and partnership
for us,” said Ryan Cronk, principal of Flaherty & Collins Properties.
“Between the city of Bridgeport and RCI, we’re really building off something
transformative at Steelpointe Harbor… This for-rent project is just what this
burgeoning area needs.”
The apartment building will have waterfront views, with
high-end and modern amenity options and a waterfront pool and deck, outdoor
kitchens, and gathering spaces, a secure parking area, and a dedicated dog park
and pet spa.
The development will include a fitness center, a spin
studio, sauna and jacuzzi, an outdoor pickleball court, and water taxi service
to Pleasure Island beach.
Bridgeport Mayor Joseph P. Ganim said the project “will
truly make a significant impact to benefit Bridgeport's economic and community
development potential.
“Bridgeport is finally seeing well-made plans become a
reality that will bring jobs, provide housing, and improve the landscape on our
waterfronts,” Ganim said.
According to the project website, the city council in
January 2022 approved a tax abatement for this phase of the Steelpointe Harbor
project, calling for a two-year construction period and one year to secure
tenants.
The city would receive almost $24,000 a year in taxes for
the first three years as the residential units are being built and leased.
Following that timeframe, the city would then get $1.26
million in year four, with a 2% increase each year up until year 10, reaching
$1.47 million.
City officials expect the project to attract other retail
developers and tenants.
Steelpointe Harbor is accessible along the I-95 corridor,
and close to the Bridgeport Transportation Center, with access to the train and
the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry to Long Island.
Development team members said this is in line with popular
“live, work, play” development concepts, and also transit-oriented development,
which is a goal of several state agencies.
The area is also home to an emerging entertainment hub,
highlighted by the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater powered by Live
Nation, which opened in 2021.
Robert Christoph, Jr., president of RCI Group, said the
project “will offer a lifestyle that doesn’t currently exist in the Bridgeport
market.”
In 2015, Bass Pro Shops, Chipotle, and Starbucks were built
at Steelpointe, followed by the addition of the 220-slip Bridgeport Harbor
Marina, which is approaching full occupancy.
The 48,000-square-foot Lighthouse Building, which overlooks
the newly-built docks at Steelpointe Harbor, is also home to the Boca Oyster
Bar, a 10,000-square-foot waterfront restaurant on the ground floor level,
members of the development team said.
RCI Group also retrofitted the old Carpenter Steel and
Derektor Shipyard buildings to include new tenants Bridgeport Boatworks,
Hornblower Group, and North Sails.
Established in 1993, Flaherty & Collins Properties is a
developer, builder, and manager of mixed-use, multifamily properties, with over
a half-billion in projects under development in Ohio, Indiana, Florida,
Oklahoma, Connecticut and Kansas City. Flaherty & Collins Properties
currently manages 80 properties and nearly 13,500 units in eight states.
Major building projects continue as New London students return to school
Johana Vazquez
New London ― Students returned to class Tuesday to see
ongoing renovations at the high and middle schools, new playgrounds and an
increased effort to involve parents.
The district’s nearly $160 million two-campus project pushes
on as construction at the high school and middle school continues. The project
is expected to be completed in 2024.
The state is reimbursing the city for 80% of the cost of
most parts of the project.
Kate McCoy, assistant superintendent of magnet pathways and
district operations, said one-half of Bennie Dover Middle School is complete.
The area of the former Chapman Technical High School, the oldest section of the
campus and built in the 1930s, awaits demolition, McCoy said.
She said it will be the site of a new entrance, grand staircase,
art room and band area. Work on that area is scheduled to start in the spring.
Bennie Dover will eventually house middle school students in
two of the district’s three magnet programs: STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math) and an International Baccalaureate (IB) program. The
school is in the process of finalizing its IB candidacy.
The high school project will house STEM and IB programs for
high school students and, because of the larger size, will accommodate both
middle and high school students in the arts magnet program.
McCoy said work will begin shortly on the high school’s
academic tower. She said that area will have several new classrooms, an art
space and a sports medicine room.
If everything goes according to schedule, the district will
open the new high school auditorium in January.
Engagement and empowerment
Superintendent of Schools Cynthia Ritchie said the district
has many themes it is working on, one of them being engagement and empowerment.
Part of that has been through its work at Birth to Age 8 Early Childhood Resource Center on Shaw
Street, having purchased the building with the city using grant funds. The
center host events throughout the year to engage families and teach hands-on
learning.
“We’re using parents as partners and connecting them to
resources throughout the community,” Ritchie said.
Earlier this year, the district hired a bilingual family
engagement coordinator, Jersahid Valencia. One program Valencia oversees to get
parents involved in the schools started last winter using funds through the
federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund program, or
ESSER.
New playgrounds, outside classrooms and Lego room
Ritchie said the district is rebuilding handicap accessible
playgrounds at three elementary schools‒ Nathan Hale, Winthrop and C.B.
Jennings‒ using ESSER funds. Installation at Nathan Hale is expected to start
this month.
She added the district has drafted plans for outside
classrooms at every school. Ritchie said she is hopeful to get approval for the
classrooms from the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission.
In partnership with Lego, Winthrop STEM Elementary School
will have a room where students can learn engineering skills using Lego
building blocks.
Assistant Principal of Winthrop Leah Champ Burdick said the
school has always used Legos as part of teaching enrichment and engineering.
She said school received a stipend from Lego after it participated in the
company’s online Education Professional Development series.
Magnet and ESSER relief funds also went into making the room
colorful and Lego-immersive.
“The whole room will be for creativity, Lego-building and
the engineering process,” Burdick said.
Local offshore wind coalition not among projects chosen for millions in federal funding
Erica Moser
President Joe Biden on Friday announced the 21 winners of the Economic Development Administration’s
$1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge, but a set of eight projects
centered on the port of New London was not one of them.
The Offshore Wind Industry Cluster had been named one of 60 finalists, out of 529 applicants, in
December. Headed by the Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region (seCTer),
the OWIC is a coalition aimed at building infrastructure, workforce, supply
chains, and research for the local offshore wind industry. It emphasized equity
and outreach to historically disadvantaged communities.
Each finalist received $500,000 to further develop its
project for Phase 2, in which 20 to 30 coalitions would get between $25 million
and $100 million each.
“Obviously we were disappointed,” said seCTer Executive
Director Paul Whitescarver on Tuesday, but he added that “even though we didn’t
win Phase 2, we actually won a great deal more, because we developed a lot of
contacts; we developed a coalition.”
The EDA had said in December that the $500,000 would position those
who don’t receive Phase 2 funding to find new partners and funding sources.
“We’re going to move forward, because we’re still funded
from our Phase I through December 2023,” Whitescarver said, and that funding
includes a regional economic competitiveness officer.
He said seCTer will meet with the coalition partners, and
with EDA “to talk about other funding opportunities that may be available.”
Whitescarver said the OWIC may be able to get help from the
federal Inflation Reduction Act, and he said he feels “very positive momentum
towards bringing offshore wind to the region.”
He said the coalition asked for $43 million from the EDA,
and with $20 million in matching funds from the state or private developers,
the total investment for the eight projects would’ve been $63 million.
The coalition involved in the eight projects are seCTer, University
of Connecticut, Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board, Connecticut
Center for Advanced Technology, Norwich Community Development Corporation and
Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments.
SeCTer facilitated an agreement with Rhode Island Commerce
and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to form a partnership focused on
workforce, supply chain and marketing. UConn is the lead for three projects:
facility construction at UConn Avery Point, research and development, and a
business incubator.
The other projects are creating an offshore wind version of
the successful Manufacturing Pipeline Initiative (EWIB), identifying gaps in
the regional supply chain (CCAT), determining feasible sites for industrial
development along the Thames River (SCCOG), and building a second business park
in Norwich (NCDC).
NCDC requested $17 million toward its $23 million project to
create the Business Park North, a plan to purchase 384 acres ― mostly former
farmland ― in Occum off I-395. The agency has a purchase option with the owners
to buy the land for $3.55 million, and Norwich Public Utilities has contributed
$575,00 and the city another $740,000 for engineering studies, designs and
architectural planning.
The park was promoted as a prime location to support off-shore
wind manufacturers and support businesses. NCDC President Kevin Brown said the
region is not giving up on the potential to capitalize on the budding offshore
wind industry, and Norwich officials already are working on “Plan B” to launch
the new business park.
“It was stiff competition,” Brown said. “We were excited and
proud to be a finalist in this process. But it does demonstrate this project
has national significance.”
Brown said the NCDC Executive Committee will meet Thursday
to discuss alternative funding to purchase the future business park land.
“It goes from hitting a home run and getting $17 million to
where we were before: acquire the land, market the land, sell off pieces and
develop it,” Brown said.
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the 21
winners of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge include projects that add
solar energy to former coal land, support manufacturers transitioning to
electric vehicles, establish a digital finance sector in Tribal communities,
rebuild pharmaceutical supply chains to lower drug costs, and more. Each winner
is getting between $25 million and $65 million, which comes from American
Rescue Plan Act funds.
Construction unemployment rose in August, and that’s good news for contractors
The construction unemployment rate rose to 3.9% in August, a
significant jump from July’s near record low of 3.5%, providing evidence that
the sector’s overheated jobs market is beginning to cool without cratering.
According to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data
by Associated
Builders and Contractors, nonresidential construction employment rose by a
net 4,300 positions. Nonresidential specialty trades added 5,600 new jobs,
while nonresidential building added 700. Heavy and civil engineering
employment fell by 2,000 positions.
After declining for several months, the labor force
participation rate — a measure of people working or looking for work
— rose meaningfully, according to Basu, from 62.1% to 62.4%. With wages
expanding 5.2% in all industries over the last year, and 5.3% in construction,
it’s an indication that a combination of inflation and rising pay rates have
induced workers back to their jobs, after the exodus of the Great Resignation.
Dive Insight:
In the overall economy, the unemployment rate rose to 3.7%
in August, an uptick of two-tenths of a percentage point. With the Federal
Reserve watching each successive economic report for clues of where the economy
is headed, Wall
Street cheered the news, since it provided evidence that policymakers may
not need to raise interest rates more than already planned.
“This jobs report represents good news for contractors,”
said Anirban Basu, ABC’s chief economist. “The rise in the overall unemployment
rate from 3.5% to 3.7% and the expansion in construction worker unemployment
from 3.5% to 3.9% means that the labor market has loosened a bit.”
While year-over-year construction wage gains are still
historically high, they only jumped by 5 cents in August from the month before,
less than a tenth of a percent, to $34.82 per hour on average. That also could
signal more measured times ahead for contractors, who have been dealing with
the double hit of rising wages and costs on materials.
“There was also evidence that compensation growth is
slowing, which is relief to contractors who have become increasingly
pessimistic about their profit margins,” Basu said. “While this will not alter
the Federal Reserve’s present posture of raising interest rates, the process of
labor market normalization appears to be underway.”
But one month’s news by no means indicates construction’s
labor woes are over. Earlier this week, the Associated General Contractors of
America issued a warning that the sector’s worker shortage is threatening
the success
of federal infrastructure projects.
Construction accountant on IIJA funds, inflation and CHIPS Act’s $500B potential
As head of Ernst & Young’s global construction and
engineering practice, Erin Roberts has kept a close eye on the market’s swings
during the pandemic.
From the tax
implications for contractors of federal infrastructure spending to
materials hoarding during the worst of the supply chain snarls,
Roberts has kept his finger on the pulse of construction throughout the crisis.
Now, as builders emerge from the pandemic but a possible
recession looms, Roberts has been traveling the country to gauge how his
construction clients are faring.
Construction Dive sat down with him to talk about the
biggest challenges facing contractors and his outlook for the rest of the year.
CONSTRUCTION DIVE: We’ve been through a lot. COVID-19.
Inflation. Rising interest rates. Where does the construction industry stand at
the end of summer 2022?
ERIN ROBERTS: I was meeting with the clients this
morning, and it was clear that the lag in development in high rise residential
had a significant impact on their business. It brought their revenues down by
half.
So, yes, there were pockets of the market that really suffered
during this period.
But the reality is, the vast majority of other end markets
have been continued to be strong. Our clients are continuing to build record
backlogs, with high book-to-burn ratios. That’s nearly unanimous.
The broader markets continue to be flush with projects, and
all the policy initiatives that the government has put in place, like the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS Act and the Inflation
Reduction Act, haven’t even really gotten started yet.
So there seems to be a very significant amount of
opportunity for contractors moving forward.
What about the looming threat of recession we keep hearing
about?
Construction is a cyclical business, so normally, I would
say we should be battening down the hatches. But it feels like a different
dynamic today, given that the demand for construction services ahead of us is
so substantial at a time when backlogs are high and unemployment is low.
How has inflation and the rise in material costs affected
your clients?
A lot of big projects were bid three years ago, when there
was zero inflation. So they didn’t have contingencies and escalation clauses.
So that’s been a big impact. Lump sum, design build and public-private
partnerships have all clearly had profit fade associated with just the raw
price of commodity increases.
But on the other side, as rents have risen, so have the
revenue streams the developers are getting from the finished building. So
that’s kept projects going.
What about the rise in interest rates? How does that impact
government funding, if at all, versus private development money?
When it comes to direct allocation of funding to
infrastructure projects generally, those dollars aren’t impacted.
But most of this funding gets deployed through a leverage
factor, because every dollar of government funding is typically coupled with
third-party debt and or equity capital.
So where you do see an impact of rising interest rates is on
the cost of money associated with those funding mechanisms. And that could
change an ROI for some of these major public-private partnerships.
Speaking of federal infrastructure projects, many
contractors are staying away from mega projects, and the result has been just
two or three bidders on many really big projects. Do you see that as a
longer-term trend?
I do. We’re seeing a two-fold shift. Companies like Granite
have gotten out of that big, large-scale, lump sum business. Many of the
contractors that would have otherwise been in that market have opted out.
So the bidding table is someone like Tutor Perini and one or
two big Spanish firms.
I think the productive shift there is a more towards a
collaborative contracting model where it’s not a hard bid, it’s progressive
design-build.
It’s, ‘Hire me to help you scope the project, and we’ll get
the engineers and architects in here to dream it up, and then we’ll work with
you under a provisional services agreement to give you a price you can count
on.’
The IIJA passed 10 months ago. Where’s the money?
When the bill was passed, the Congressional Budget Office
projected that they would deploy about $17 billion of IJ funds in their fiscal
year 2022. That ends in a few weeks.
I was talking with one of our major engineering clients and
they indicated they hadn’t seen a single dollar come through, even on the engineering
side, before any project.
I don’t think we’ve spent any of that money yet. We have
seen green shoots at the agency level, looking to deploy those funds in the
next six months and get the engineering side going. But construction is still
going to lag that by another nine to 12 months.
Remember, this is is a five-year bill with a high water mark
in the original estimates being 2026. I think now that’s maybe more like 2028.
I’d say we’re looking at 2024 or 2025 before you start seeing meaningful construction
spending in the $60 billion to $70 billion range.
You touched on the major government initiatives earlier.
What additional opportunities do you see there?
Well, for one, the CHIPS Act on its face is $52 billion for
grants associated with domestic chip manufacturing. But you have to remember,
that’s an unleveraged number. The number you deploy in private capital is going
to be ten times that, because these are really just credits and incentives to
investment.
When you think of some of the announcements we’ve heard out
of chip plants in places like Texas, that $52 billion is going to be leveraged
to a significant amount of construction spending that’s going to move through
the pipeline.